HOUSTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The time is perfect for Chinese films to go global in the context of globalization, but challenges exist, well-known Chinese producer and director Jizhong Zhang said here Tuesday.

According to Zhang, with the development of globalization, movies have become one of the best media for a country to promote its culture to the world.

However, Zhang said cultural globalization is not about integration, but about exchanges and cooperation in the cultural field on a global scale. "Instead of cultural homogenization and colonialism, we should uphold harmony in diversity," he said

Zhang made the remarks at the Fame Hall Masters Meeting of the 52th WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival here.

The meeting, according to organizers, aims to recognize excellence in film and video, promote cultural exchanges among countries, and add to the rich cultural fabric of the city of Houston.

Zhang also mentioned that the key to cultural exchange is to enhance mutual trust in culture and to maintain an open and inclusive mentality. "On this basis, we could break the barriers of cultural cognition and find common values," he said.

However, challenges do exist. One of them is to tell Chinese stories in a proper way so that international audiences can understand, Zhang said.

"We have abundant stories to tell and we just need to figure out the right way," Zhang said. "We can learn from Hollywood's clear divisions of labor -- professionals do their own specialty."

He said that he hopes to see some changes in the Chinese movie industry in the near future. "We need to make changes in film production and distribution," he said.

During the film festival, eight Asian seminars are scheduled to be held on April 6-13, attracting movie industry insiders, well-known directors and screenwriters as well as political figures and Sino-U.S. relations scholars.

WorldFest-Houston was founded as Cinema Arts, an international film society, in August 1961. It has evolved into the third competitive international film festival in North America, following the San Francisco and New York film festivals.